Day trips from Amsterdam?
 

I will be traveling to Amsterdam in November, and due to flight schedules I will be there for 12 days, which I have been told is a bit too long for just Amsterdam.

I am already planning a day trip to the Hague, but was wondering if anyone could provide me some other suggestions? I have looked into taking the Thalys to Brussels for a day (arrive around 9 AM, come back to Amsterdam around 7 PM).

I will not have a car while in Amsterdam, so I am looking for options either by train, or if there is a day tour anyone could recommend, that would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

Delft would be a day trip that might be enjoyable and I would strongly recommend Brugges, Belgium. It might be too much for a "day trip" if you can stay overnight. Brugges is small and I believe the train ride is 3 hours but it is worth the trip.

Amsterdam is lovely but 12 days is too long . The weather in Nov. can also be miserable.
There are many places easily reached from Ams - Haarlem, Hague, places in Belgium, and if you are really up to it - Paris ( in 4 hours !).
The train service is very good .

I just wanted to echo the previous posters' sentiments. The Netherlands is a small country with a terrific train sytstem. It's very worthwhile to get out of Amsterdam and see more of the country. You might want to invest in a guidebook for more info but places like Delft, Utrecht, Haarlem and Leiden are well worth a visit.

We will be in the NL for two weeks next April. Rather than stay in Amsterdam, we found a lovely apartment in Zandvoort.

Our planned day trips, but not cast in concrete are: Leiden and Keukenhof, Den Hagg and Middelburg, Haarlem, Volendam and Manickdam, Zaanstad and Zaanzseschans, Lilystad and bus to Urk, Utrect and Gouda, Enkhuisen and Hoorn, and Amsterdam. We may not get to see all, but we will adjust our plans as we go along as Amsterdam will take more than one day, and we have not yet decided on which canal rides we will do.

When we leave Zandvoort, we will spend two days in Brugges and one in Brussels.

A day in the following cities would all be enjoyable:

Delft
Haarlem
Leiden
Arnhem
Utrecht

You could do Maastricht in a day, but you would spend a good part of it on a train. That would be a problem with cities like Brugges, Cologne, Brussels and Paris as well.

There are a number of day tours available - check the VVV office outside Centraal station. They will be somewhat limited in November.